Workers in the fields of camera use, and of small computer terminals are familiar with the many and various applications which are being devised, as the associated hardware becomes more readily available and reasonably priced. Digital, electronic capture of images is changing from a high-cost, technology-intensive operation to a relatively simple and low-cost task which is apt for many repetitive activities found in daily life. The advent of multiple, high-speed digital data communication has made the use of digital imaging more attractive, since it allows one to instantly, reliably transmit captured images over great distances at low cost. Similarly, the advent of powerful, yet affordable personal computers and their associated software has brought advanced techniques for storing and manipulating such captured images, and integrating them electronically and instantaneously (e.g., with other images and related data such as text and numbers).
Our interest is in applying such concepts to various mass-market applications; particularly for developing a portrait-based licensing or like personal identification system. For instance, this teaches a PC network of terminals apt to capture a subject's image and use it to prepare his driver's license. However, workers will realize that there are many related applications in other fields, such as for preparation of other "identity documents" (e.g, credit cards and credentials of many kinds).
Such "identity documents" are presently prepared using a mixture of photographic, printed and handwritten data which must be combined into a single item (a driver's license, for example) by relatively costly and time-consuming methods. The systems we here envision replace a series of processes with a single, digital technique which combines all these separate, conventional elements into a single system which is capable of producing a finished product, doing so almost instantly and at the point of consumer contact.
Workers in the art will readily understand that such a system must be capable of accepting a variety of inputs, depending upon the nature of the credential to be produced. Apart from regular text, which may be simply and reliably produced by relatively conventional digital means, such a system would, ideally, accept an "electronic portrait" of the consumer (typically in color), and incorporate it with text, with handwritten input such as a signature, and with other physical identification indicia such as a fingerprint, retinal scan, or the like. Devices to capture all this various disparate data and render it in a digital form apt for electronic transmission and reproduction are available and may be easily applied in such a system. We prefer to combine all these elements into a system which is driven and monitored by a conventional personal computer, which serves to accept input from the various devices and, by means of custom software (not described here, but well understood in the art), to combine the data in whatever fashion a user may desire. Here, the personal computer is also the means whereby the combined data may be rendered into a tangible credential (license) according to the format desired by the user, and is also the means by which the captured data may be transmitted (in this or other forms), as the user's application dictates.
Workers in the art will immediately realize that such a system is capable of many different configurations, depending upon the nature of the identity-credential (document) to be produced. For example, a system for producing driver's licenses might be required to function as follows:
to capture a portrait image of the subject, in color; PA1 to capture a facsimile of his signature, PA1 to capture images, in color, of other identification indicia presented by the subject, particularly using an off-the-shelf video camera, PA1 to capture tax and fee information, such as payment means; PA1 to render all the foregoing in digital form; PA1 to combine some or all of these items into a single composite data base for the physical credential (the driver's license) and to render that credential in one of several formats (such as a laminated card), quickly, at the point and time of data capture, PA1 to retain archive records of all these items, PA1 to transmit some or all of these items to other databases (e.g., for governmental or law-enforcement use); and PA1 to have the ability to combine all this with other, later-acquired data to form a long-term record regarding the driver, his license, etc. (such as information concerning subsequent driving infractions).
An exemplary preferred layout of such a system, intended for countertop use, is shown in FIG. 3.
Workers will readily understand that such a system should accommodate mass production at reasonable cost in order to be attractive to users. For this reason, we choose to employ, so far as possible, components and devices which are already fully developed and readily available, integrating them into our system by means of software developed for the chosen personal computer. Most of the devices intended for use in such a system (such as signature pads, thumbprint readers and the like) are already fully developed for customer and point-of-sale applications, and present no great difficulty for integration. An exception is the electronic-image capture means (video camera) for capturing the portrait image of each subject in electronic, digital form. For reasons of cost and suitability for the application, we prefer to employ a conventional "television-type" video camera, like those widely available for industrial and consumer use.
Workers will understand that the use of such a camera presents some special problems re mounting and security as integrated with a personal computer. Here, we particularly address these problems:
1. Mounting of Camera
Workers will understand the requirement, in the applications described, for a sturdy stable mounting arrangement, suited to the user's requirements;
Conventionally, such a camera might be mounted on the familiar photographic tripod. But tripods are not particularly suited to our application, since they tend to be costly, not very apt for use in a countertop environment, use too much floor space, are not very robust, and exhibit features which are not required in our application.
2. Security
Security: both the video camera and the associated personal computer should resist tampering and removal. Our preferred system is to be used at the point of contact with the license subjects; typically an environment open to the public. While some dedicated devices in the system (for example, a thumbprint scanner or signature pad) have little or no value to a would-be thief, the video camera and the personal computer are recognized as tempting items. Hence, our preferred system includes features enhancing the security of the camera and the computer.
Accordingly, we seek to address the foregoing and other difficulties by teaching a novel embodiment which combines a personal computer and a video camera in a single, integrated mounting arrangement, one designed to give maximum utility to a user in the applications described, while, also providing good security for the personal computer and the video camera--all at a reasonable cost.
The methods and means discussed herein will be generally understood as constructed and operating as presently known in the art, except where otherwise specified; and with all materials, methods, devices and apparatus herein understood as being implemented by known expedients according to present good practice.